LOUISVILLE, KY. -- Senior Allie Buchalski earned her sixth-career All-American citation to lead the 11th-ranked Furman women’s cross country team to a seventh-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Championships Saturday at the E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville, Ky. The Paladin men finished in a tie for 26th.

Buchalski, a native of Johns Creek, Ga., claimed her second cross country All-American award after placing ninth with a time of 19:42.42 to pace the Paladins, who made their first team appearance at the national meet, on the 6K course. Buchalski ran in the NCAA Championships as an individual for Furman in 2015, where she claimed All-American honors after placing seventh, the highest finish ever by a Paladin athlete at the national meet.

Sophomore Savannah Carnahan turned in a time of 20:19.36 on Saturday for 46th place, and sophomore Gabrielle Jennings was 60th at 20:25.19. Sophomores Grace Dwyer and Emma Grace Hurley placed 125th and 126th, respectively, to complete the Furman scoring slate. Dwyer notched a time of 20:55.59, followed by Hurley at 20:56.44. Sophomore Riley Burr finished 236th with a time of 22:09.65, and freshman Kristlin Gear was 239th at 22:18.24.

Senior Frank Lara, who hails from Houston, Texas, led the Furman men with a time of 30:54.93 on the 10K course to place 123rd. Senior Tanner Hinkle finished 134th with a time of 30:59.74, while junior Aaron Templeton crossed the line in 31:03.32 for 141st place. Rookie Daniel Bernal posted a time of 31:08.27 for 151st place, and senior Troy Reeder, who finished 162nd to complete the Paladin scorers, recorded a time of 31:14.28. Senior Josh Brickell was 176th at 31:22.97, and sophomore Mason Coppi was 208th with a time of 31:44.45

The Furman men have made four other appearances in the national championship meet: in 1965, 1970, 2014, and 2015. The Paladins’ highest finish at the national meet was recorded in 1965, when Furman finished 12th out of 18 teams. Templeton led the Paladin men in 2015, finishing 51st to become Furman’s highest finisher in the history of the men’s program. Lonnie Poole placed 53rd in 1965 to lead the Paladins in their first-ever appearance at the national meet.

The Paladin men entered Saturday’s meet ranked seventh nationally after winning the NCAA Southeast Regional Championship last week. The Furman women placed second at the region meet to earn an automatic bid to the championships. Both programs won their fifth-straight Southern Conference titles last month.

Louisville, Ky. - -A trio of Bulldogs represented Samford University at the 2017 Division I NCAA Cross Country Championships Saturday morning at E.P. Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky.The women began a very windy day by running a 6K race followed by the men's 10K with a moved up start time due to the threat of inclement weather."Cross country nationals is the hardest thing NCAA athletics has to offer," Cross Country Coach Pat McGregor said when asked about the meet.Seniors Karisa Nelson and Anna Long entered today's race with the hope of earning All-American status and would each need a top 40 finish to do so. Nelson began the race in contention for the coveted All-American honors but eventually faded back and finished 56th with a time of 20:23.0. Long also put up a strong fight finishing with a time of 20:37.6 giving her an 89th place finish out of over 250 athletes. New Mexico's Ednah Kurgat took home the individual title which helped New Mexico secure the team title on the women's side.